Tag Archives: Roy Halladay

Well, to be honest with you, I’ve always liked Roy Halladay, even if he is a Phillie! I saw this video for the first time today and wondered if all Major League pitchers feel the same way about their catchers as Roy feels about his. I can see Lincecum and Cain showing Buster a little love, but all bets are off when it comes to Wilson. Can you just see Brian Wilson in the kitchen, making pancakes while discussing the morning with a balloon replica of Buster Posey?

I saw an interview with Buster Posey after the season was over, and as I recall, Buster said at one point he started to go out on the mound to talk with Wilson, took one look at those dark green eyes glaring off into space, promptly turned around and went back behind the plate. Later he explained, he just thought it was something he should do, not that Wilson wanted it or needed it. Posey didn’t say he was intimidated, but that was the implication.

One can only hope Roy Halladay spends a lot of time in the kitchen talking to blow-up dummies for the next six months. Is it post season yet?

Whodathunk it? I had almost as much fun watching the sports pundits after the game than watching the game itself. Well, almost. The Giants had no chance, nada, zilch, zero, of beating Cliff Lee in game one of this World Series. None! I mean, after all, Cliff Lee had never lost a playoff game. Won 10, Loss 0! Whew, who wants to go up against those odds? I almost believed it myself. So after the game, when the pundits came slithering out from under the rocks, it was just a lot of fun to listen to their enlightened jibberish. I believe it’s called “eating crow”? As Joe buck said in his post-game commentary, “Don’t listen to us folks. We don’t know anything!”

The thing that puzzles me about the Giants getting absolutely no respect before the game, and still now, even after the game, is the way they made it to the World Series in the first place. This is a team of self-proclaimed misfits and oddballs, picked up from the trash heaps of other teams, a couple of rookies, and one helluva pitching staff. In August, this team was 6 1/2 games behind in the NL West, but they scratched and clawed and fought off not only the San Diego Padres, but also a very good Colorado Rockies team to prevail. They willed their way to the NL West Championship. They were the underdog as they advanced to the NLDS against Atlanta, under the leadership of Bobby Cox, destined to extend his career a few more games. But, once again, against the odds, the Giants won the National League Division Series against Atlanta!

So now the pundits had a ball! I mean now the Giants had to face the Philadelphia Phillies, defending National League Champions, two years in a row, and World Series Champions only a year ago! Their ace, Roy Halladay, as good as it gets, pitched a “no hitter” against the Cincinnati Reds, enroute to the NLDS this year, and the Reds were no pansies. To solidify the belief, earlier in the year Halladay had thrown a perfect game! And it wasn’t just Halladay, they also had to face Roy Oswalt, a fastball pitcher who the Phillies acquired from Houston specifically for this reason, to dominate in the playoffs. Again, Phillies fans lost a lot of money through their bookies over this series. Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies and won the National League Pennant in 6.

So what’s it going to take? Headlines all over the country projected the Texas Rangers to win the World Series. Everywhere except in the San Francisco Bay Area. Even the Los Angeles papers ….. (whoops forget it, that’s Dodger country, doesn’t count! i.e., LA Times article today by “Bill Shaikin ~ San Francisco takes advantage of a less-than-sharp effort by the highly regarded left-hander on a night when Tim Lincecum is not exactly crisp.”) Cracks me up, but you know what? He’s right! And that’s baseball folks! And you know what else? The SF Giants may NOT win the World Series. But if they do, it will be because they WILLED it, and not because of anything the Rangers and pundits have to say. Baseball, don’t you just love it?

"The best possible thing in baseball is winning the World Series. The second best thing is losing the World Series." - Tommy Lasorda

"You teach me baseball and I’ll teach you relativity.... You will learn about relativity faster than I learn baseball." - Albert Einstein

"Baseball is a game of race, creed, and color. The race is to first base. The creed is the rules of the game. The color? Well, the home team wears white uniforms, and the visiting team wears gray."
Joe Garagiola

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DISCLAIMER

GARLICFRIESANDBASEBALL is written by a long-time fan who simply loves the game. I write my own articles (hence the grammar and occasional misspellings). If I include an article from another source, credit is given to that source and will include links when appropriate. The opinions are my own.